CHARLOTTE — Andy Dalton was well enough to practice fully on Wednesday, with all his work coming with the second unit.

According to head coach Dave Canales, that was partly to have some certainty for this week's starter Bryce Young through the week and partly as a result of Dalton's desire to get back on the field.

"It really was me taking the decision out of Andy's hands," Canales said Wednesday. "If you were to ask Andy, like, can you go, he would tell you yes. And for me, it's like he's a week removed from a thumb injury and I just wanted to make sure that we're putting him back out there in the right state, in the right framework.

"And I'm excited for Bryce, you know, to have another opportunity to build on the things that we've talked about to, you know, continue to just grow and get that experience that we talked about is invaluable to be on the field, to be calling the plays and doing it."

What Canales isn't doing is making any permanent declarations. He had said that he planned on Dalton starting prior to the car crash but wasn't getting past Sunday's game against the Saints when asked if this decision meant Young would start the rest of the season.

"Bryce will be starting this week," Canales said. "We'll collect all the information over the week, with Andy, with Bryce, how he plays this week and then we'll make another decision next week."

Jonathan Brooks, DJ Wonnum getting closer

Running back Jonathon Brooks and outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum continue to practice in their returns from the NFI and PUP lists, respectively.

Both were full participants in Wednesday's practice. This is the third week of Brooks' three-week window and the second of Wonnum's.

Canales said the key with the rookie running back was making sure he was fully confident in his knee after last year's ACL tear, and with Wonnum, it was making sure he's ready for the physical workload of a game. In his complicated return from a quadriceps tear suffered late last December, there were months when Wonnum wasn't able to work out at all.

"He looks awesome," Canales said of Wonnum. "And we just have to make sure that he's ready to handle the full volume of a game, and it's like how much can he handle, what's his capacity? And so those are all the questions for him coming back from that injury: when is he going to be game-ready? But he certainly looked really good today."

Diontae Johnson trade "best decision for all of us"

Canales was asked a number of questions about Tuesday's trade of wide receiver Diontae Johnson and mostly tried to stay clear of the discussion. Johnson was their leading receiver, but he was traded for a slight bump in draft value (The Ravens gave a fifth-round pick for Johnson and a six) in large part because he's a free agent at the end of the season.

"Long term, Dan, Brandt, and I just kind of talked about the different opportunities that came up, and we just kind of collected all the information and made the best decision for all of us," Canales said.

He referred to the "opportunity" for young receivers but steered clear about a lot of details of Johnson's departure.

"I'm not going to get into too much of the specifics," Canales said. "A lot of those conversations we always want to try to protect and keep in-house. But, we kind of just collectively thought that that was the best decision for us."

Jaycee Horn says individual success means nothing in a loss

Cornerback Jaycee Horn is on pace to have a career year in the NFL. The fourth-year corner has 34 tackles in eight games (4.25 per game) plus an interception and nine passes defended. The latter is a career high, and the tackles per game has him on pace to blow his previous career tackle high (53) out of the water.

Granted, Horn has missed some of each previous year with various injuries. But midway through the 2024 season, he is healthy and balling.

And he doesn't care.

"It don't make it better because you can't really enjoy individual success when you're losing games," Horn declared Wednesday. "Cause at the end of the day, our job is to win. No matter how much success you have, at the end of the day, it won't matter till we're winning.

"So, that's my mind, I want to win some games."

The Panthers will have a chance on Sunday at home, against the 2-6 Saints. New Orleans beat the Panthers in Week 1, 47-10. Asked this week if reminders of that game gave Carolina an edge, Horn bluntly admitted, "S--, naw, if we have an extra edge cause of that game," before trailing off to let the point linger. "We're 1-7, that should be the only edge we need."

Another receiver added to practice squad

The Panthers added another receiver with return ability Wednesday, signing former Washington wideout Dax Milne to the practice squad.

The 25-year-old Milne missed all of last season on injured reserve with a groin injury. He was in Raiders camp this summer.

The former seventh-round pick from BYU adds an established punt returner to the mix, in addition to some receiving depth. He had 15 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown in his two healthy seasons with Washington.

A former walk-on at BYU, he had 70 catches for 1,188 yards and eight touchdowns his junior season before entering the draft.